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Picture of the Month
December 2008
This road in southern Haiti has been flooded for several months now. You can see water taxis in
the distance. Not seen are the homes that used to line this road where there is now only water.
The Church of the Nazarene and Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Haiti, through the incredible direction and energy of Rev. Walliere Pierre, are tackling head on many of the issues stemming from and exacerbated by recent hurricanes. Food, in particular, is still an immediate need. Pierre is working with limited resources to help Nazarenes and others manage the day to day, but he is also working for a better tomorrow.
In addition to meeting the needs of those in crisis, NCM Haiti is engaging in long-term solutions. They are involved in everything from goat and rabbit projects (which produce food, income for Nazarene schools, and potentially long-term income for families) to child development (preventative health care, feeding, education) to sponsoring a youth soccer team (as a way to instill character and leadership in young people as well as to create evangelistic opportunities).
Take a look at this video and article from the Miami Herald. It shows the stark reality many Haitians are experiencing as a result of the recent hurricane season that plunged the country even further into a crippling food crisis.
The article focuses on one rural village in southeastern Haiti that has been hit especially hard. It states, "Proud, they reluctantly admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to feed their children, many of whom already suffer from chronic malnutrition. Their story is repeated throughout the countryside, where a lack of roads, potable water and public-health facilities, as well as deforestation, already had Haiti's rural poor living in life-threatening misery before the four back-to-back storms washed out more roads, killed livestock and wiped out crops."
Through the Haiti Water Project the church in Haiti is doing what it can to help bring water to communities like this one. In Bleck, another southeastern village, we have extended a spring-fed water system from the surrounding hills into additional communities. The original system with four fountains changed the community of Bleck and the lives of thousands of people. Now that system includes three additional fountains that will help change the lives of their neighbors. All told, the entire system serves communities with an estimated population of 40,000 people.
The video from a recent NCM conference is available for preview here and download in English (41 MB) and Kreyòl. (41 MB)
Click here for a further overview of Hurricane Season 2008.
Click here for the Caribbean Region's Hurricane News Page.
Write to communications@caribnaz.org to find out more on how to help now and for the longterm.
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